Astronomers discover eight new cataclysmic variables

An international team of astronomers has analyzed the data from the latest phase of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). They discovered eight new cataclysmic variables (CV) systems. The finding is reported in a paper published ...

Astronomers discover helium-burning white dwarf

A white dwarf star can explode as a supernova when its mass exceeds the limit of about 1.4 solar masses. A team led by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Garching and involving the University of ...

A new mission will search for habitable planets at Alpha Centauri

Alpha Centauri is our closest stellar neighbor, a binary star system located just 4.376 light-years away. Despite its proximity, repeated astronomical surveys have failed to find hard evidence of extrasolar planets in this ...

Astronomers detect two new polars

Using multiple telescopes, astronomers have detected two new magnetic cataclysmic variable systems of the polar subclass and determined their fundamental properties. The finding, which could help us better understand the ...

Astronomers detect a second planet orbiting two stars

Planets orbiting binary stars are in a tough situation: They have to contend with the gravitational pull of two separate stars. Planetary formation around a single star like our sun is relatively straightforward compared ...

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